My trip to the Maldives was not planned in advance, so when buying a last-minute tour, the choice of hotels was small. I confess that at first I was somewhat confused by the size of the island: only 200m X 40m, but after studying the reviews on this hotel and its description, and comparing it with information about other hotels, I came to the conclusion that this is exactly what I need.
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My trip to the Maldives was not planned in advance, so when buying a last-minute tour, the choice of hotels was small. I confess that at first I was somewhat confused by the size of the island: only 200m X 40m, but after studying the reviews on this hotel and its description, and comparing it with information about other hotels, I came to the conclusion that this is exactly what I need. And I was not mistaken.
Upon arrival in Male, the weather was great, so the half-hour transfer to the hotel by seaplane turned out to be not at all tedious, but an exciting journey: the view through the porthole was in no way inferior to those photos that tour operators post on their websites... The seaplane splashed down in the ocean , we were dropped off on a small wooden raft, a dhoni (local boat) immediately approached and already on it we proceeded directly to the hotel, it took 15-20 minutes. We were greeted at the hotel pier by friendly staff with a welcome cocktail and chilled towels. We were given a tour of the island, showed what and where is located. Then we filled out cards with information about ourselves, and we were settled in rooms. The hotel employee escorted to the room and carried the luggage, and after receiving the tip left.
The location of the rooms is as follows: 2-storey houses with 4 rooms (2 on the first floor and two on the second). There are 56 rooms in total. The room is spacious, no frills, but all the furniture is in excellent condition. In the room: a large bed, 2 bedside tables along the edges of it with lamps, air conditioning, a telephone, a table and two chairs, a dressing table with a large mirror, a minibar. The bathroom has a large full-length mirror, a sink on a marble table, all plumbing is in good condition, there were no problems with water, the water pressure is good. The rooms on the 2nd floor have a balcony with two simple chairs and a table, as well as a clothesline for drying clothes. The rooms are cleaned twice a day, towels are changed every day, soap and shampoos too, but the bed was not replaced during the 5 days of my stay there, they were just covered neatly. Cleaning takes place during breakfast and dinner, so the chance of encountering staff is minimal. At the same time, you can always contact the reception with any request, and the room-boy will fulfill it as soon as possible. By the way, at the reception you can use the left-luggage office. The hotel staff does not understand Russian at all, so at least a minimum knowledge of English is required! There were a lot of Russian tourists on this island, but mostly Italians.
The nature of the Maldives is truly fabulous: white sand, crystal clear ocean water and a large number of palm trees and flowering greenery. Storks calmly walking around the island, colorful coral fish and huge turtles. All this makes you completely forget that there is some other world. There is no need to rush anywhere, shoes are practically not needed on the island, and a huge suitcase with various outfits, perhaps, will not come in handy either. Rest in the Maldives is a holiday in its true sense: silence, peace, unity with nature. You need to come to the decision to relax in the Maldives on your own, because staying on the island without parties, many hours of shopping and stormy animation may seem boring to someone.
Against the backdrop of high humidity, the Maldivian sun imperceptibly does its job: already on the first day I was decently burned, but for the first time in my life this did not stop me from going to the beach, because the pleasure of being in the crystal clear ocean covered all costs : ) At nightfall, small sharks, rays and other marine life come to the shore. The beach is small, equipped with wooden sun loungers with soft mattresses and parasols made of palm leaves. There is a place to play volleyball. In general, the island is clean, but after low tide, various small debris remains along the coast, and they are not in a hurry to clean it up.
The restaurant is located directly above the water, it stands on stilts, there are holes in the floor through which you can feed small sharks and other fish. The food, in my opinion, could be better. Not enough fruit, papaya was given every day, plus 1-2 more types of fruit. In general, the choice of dishes could be wider for 4 *. Although you can choose: hot dishes, meat, fish, chicken, a variety of side dishes (I liked couscous the most), various vegetable salads, pastries, delicious desserts, there were few snacks: one type of sausage and one type of cheese. For breakfast, I liked porridge, omelettes are cooked right in front of you with toppings of your choice, natural yogurt. In principle, you can choose for someone who is on a diet, and someone who loves to eat. But there was one not very pleasant moment: in order to save money, what was not eaten at lunch was served for dinner in the same form, or in a “modified” one. Drinks are free only at breakfast. The service in the restaurant is very peculiar: the waiter is very welcoming and friendly, enters into a casual conversation, but at the same time we can forget some of the cutlery or napkins. Each room has its own table.
The infrastructure of the island is very modest: a souvenir shop, a small gym, table tennis, a small spa, internet and Wi-Fi at the reception. You don’t pay in cash anywhere, everything is recorded on the account of the room, and on the evening before departure you pay this bill. Cash is only required for tips.
I can say that the cost of living in this hotel, in my opinion, corresponds to the quality of the services provided. And I would love to stay there. Everything is somehow laconic, simple and unobtrusive, moreover, no discomfort and negative emotions, no problems, there was absolutely everything that was needed. And minor shortcomings were not able to compete with those vivid impressions that fill the soul and thoughts of this tiny paradise island...
Upon arrival in Male, the weather was great, so the half-hour transfer to the hotel by seaplane turned out to be not at all tedious, but an exciting journey: the view through the porthole was in no way inferior to those photos that tour operators post on their websites... The seaplane splashed down in the ocean , we were dropped off on a small wooden raft, a dhoni (local boat) immediately approached and already on it we proceeded directly to the hotel, it took 15-20 minutes. We were greeted at the hotel pier by friendly staff with a welcome cocktail and chilled towels. We were given a tour of the island, showed what and where is located. Then we filled out cards with information about ourselves, and we were settled in rooms. The hotel employee escorted to the room and carried the luggage, and after receiving the tip left.
The location of the rooms is as follows: 2-storey houses with 4 rooms (2 on the first floor and two on the second). There are 56 rooms in total. The room is spacious, no frills, but all the furniture is in excellent condition. In the room: a large bed, 2 bedside tables along the edges of it with lamps, air conditioning, a telephone, a table and two chairs, a dressing table with a large mirror, a minibar. The bathroom has a large full-length mirror, a sink on a marble table, all plumbing is in good condition, there were no problems with water, the water pressure is good. The rooms on the 2nd floor have a balcony with two simple chairs and a table, as well as a clothesline for drying clothes. The rooms are cleaned twice a day, towels are changed every day, soap and shampoos too, but the bed was not replaced during the 5 days of my stay there, they were just covered neatly. Cleaning takes place during breakfast and dinner, so the chance of encountering staff is minimal. At the same time, you can always contact the reception with any request, and the room-boy will fulfill it as soon as possible. By the way, at the reception you can use the left-luggage office. The hotel staff does not understand Russian at all, so at least a minimum knowledge of English is required! There were a lot of Russian tourists on this island, but mostly Italians.
The nature of the Maldives is truly fabulous: white sand, crystal clear ocean water and a large number of palm trees and flowering greenery. Storks calmly walking around the island, colorful coral fish and huge turtles. All this makes you completely forget that there is some other world. There is no need to rush anywhere, shoes are practically not needed on the island, and a huge suitcase with various outfits, perhaps, will not come in handy either. Rest in the Maldives is a holiday in its true sense: silence, peace, unity with nature. You need to come to the decision to relax in the Maldives on your own, because staying on the island without parties, many hours of shopping and stormy animation may seem boring to someone.
Against the backdrop of high humidity, the Maldivian sun imperceptibly does its job: already on the first day I was decently burned, but for the first time in my life this did not stop me from going to the beach, because the pleasure of being in the crystal clear ocean covered all costs : ) At nightfall, small sharks, rays and other marine life come to the shore. The beach is small, equipped with wooden sun loungers with soft mattresses and parasols made of palm leaves. There is a place to play volleyball. In general, the island is clean, but after low tide, various small debris remains along the coast, and they are not in a hurry to clean it up.
The restaurant is located directly above the water, it stands on stilts, there are holes in the floor through which you can feed small sharks and other fish. The food, in my opinion, could be better. Not enough fruit, papaya was given every day, plus 1-2 more types of fruit. In general, the choice of dishes could be wider for 4 *. Although you can choose: hot dishes, meat, fish, chicken, a variety of side dishes (I liked couscous the most), various vegetable salads, pastries, delicious desserts, there were few snacks: one type of sausage and one type of cheese. For breakfast, I liked porridge, omelettes are cooked right in front of you with toppings of your choice, natural yogurt. In principle, you can choose for someone who is on a diet, and someone who loves to eat. But there was one not very pleasant moment: in order to save money, what was not eaten at lunch was served for dinner in the same form, or in a “modified” one. Drinks are free only at breakfast. The service in the restaurant is very peculiar: the waiter is very welcoming and friendly, enters into a casual conversation, but at the same time we can forget some of the cutlery or napkins. Each room has its own table.
The infrastructure of the island is very modest: a souvenir shop, a small gym, table tennis, a small spa, internet and Wi-Fi at the reception. You don’t pay in cash anywhere, everything is recorded on the account of the room, and on the evening before departure you pay this bill. Cash is only required for tips.
I can say that the cost of living in this hotel, in my opinion, corresponds to the quality of the services provided. And I would love to stay there. Everything is somehow laconic, simple and unobtrusive, moreover, no discomfort and negative emotions, no problems, there was absolutely everything that was needed. And minor shortcomings were not able to compete with those vivid impressions that fill the soul and thoughts of this tiny paradise island...
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Great beach holiday. Sun, ocean +30, water +28, soft white sand. Calm, but not boring at all! Holidays for couples and families with children.
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Great beach holiday. Sun, ocean +30, water +28, soft white sand. Calm, but not boring at all! Holidays for couples and families with children.
Review from — vOtpusk.ru
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The Maldives is heaven on earth!! ! Everyone should visit there at least once in their life to see the turquoise ocean with crystal clear water, snow-white sand and many green islands in the middle of the ocean... The Maldives is a very beautiful country! Believe me, having been there, the sea will leave impressions.
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The Maldives is heaven on earth!! ! Everyone should visit there at least once in their life to see the turquoise ocean with crystal clear water, snow-white sand and many green islands in the middle of the ocean... The Maldives is a very beautiful country! Believe me, having been there, the sea will leave impressions... even the ocean... And the Indian Ocean itself is simply amazing! The color of the water is simply mesmerizing: from the turquoise lagoons to the deep blue depths of the ocean. You can admire it for hours... I have not seen such bright and saturated colors either on the Red Sea in Egypt (which is considered one of the most beautiful), or on the Aegean Sea in Greece, or on the Mediterranean Sea in Turkey and Cyprus (although there is also some water clean and transparent! Nothing beats the Indian Ocean in the Maldives! Yes, it is in the Maldives, because in Thailand the same ocean is completely different: the water is very muddy, dirty and visibility is no more than a meter. In the Maldives, everything looks different... like in a fairy tale!
And from a bird's eye view, the Maldives seemed to me even more beautiful! Therefore, I advise you not to spare money for a transfer from the airport to the hotel, since a seaplane flight is worth the money that they charge for it (it has special ventilation windows through which you can take a picture of all the beauty of this wonderful country).
Flight duration - 25 minutes, no more. It was very unexpected that the seaplane did not deliver us immediately to the hotel, but to a raft in the middle of the Indian Ocean, far from the islands. Together with the luggage, the pilots dropped us off, and flew away themselves. Very extreme! But soon a boat sailed, which took us to our island of Ranveli, where we were met with cool towels and treated to cocktails. By the way, while we were sailing, we saw flying fish and dolphins (the second time we saw dolphins from the island).
The Ranveli Village hotel occupies the entire island. The island itself is small, but very green, a lot of all living creatures (especially birds, flying foxes and crabs). Tall palm trees grow all around, strewn with coconuts, many of which lean right over the water, exotic plants and fruits, many flowers, there is a mini-Christmas tree (I think they decorate it for the New Year). There are many hammocks on the island (one is even located on a palm tree above the water), there are also swings with soft cushions where you can have fun. Ranveli Village has a lot of beautiful places where you can take pictures. By the way, those pictures that are posted on the Internet in the description of the hotel do not reflect the real beauty of this island (probably an inexperienced photographer took it). What we saw live turned out to be much more beautiful!
On the one hand, the island has turquoise lagoons, where the maximum depth is waist-deep (expanse for children or for those who are afraid to swim. Here we usually dragged loungers directly into the water, lay and enjoyed the sun), and on the other, there is a house reef where you can swim, dive and watch the fish. I have never seen such a quantity and variety of fish anywhere else: from small to huge and all colors of the rainbow! And to see the inhabitants of the ocean, it is not necessary to dive to the depths with scuba gear, you can just snorkel (i. e. swim on the surface of the water with a mask and snorkel). Eyes run wide from the number of colorful fish and various corals (most of the corals, unfortunately, seem to be dead due to warming water, but new ones are growing in their place. It’s still very beautiful! We really regretted that we didn’t take a box with us on the camera underwater photography). Provided that the water temperature was 27 degrees (we rested from March 2 to March 12.2008), then we don’t want to climb out of the ocean at all. The advantages of the Maldives include the weather, which is favorable all year round (it did not let us down either: the heat was 30-35 degrees, and for all 11 days it rained only once, and after it - a huge rainbow)!
The beach itself is very clean with white sand that does not heat up a bit! The only drawback is that in some places fragments of old corals interfere with the entrance to the water. Could clean up! By the way, do not believe that there are few sunbeds on the beach, there are enough of them and enough for everyone! However, those who wanted to take a place under a palm tree (since the sun is very active in the Maldives - the equator is still - do not forget to take a couple of sunscreens with a strong protection factor), had to get up early and take sunbeds, and so, no one was left without a place ! There are also sun loungers near each house, but there is always a shadow there! This is because of the tropical vegetation, which is so abundant on the island that 2-storey houses (4 rooms in each: the second floor has a balcony, the first floor has a terrace) are not visible from the beach at all. Disadvantages of the rooms: firstly, even though all the houses overlook the ocean, but it is not visible from the room (all because of the same vegetation); secondly, despite the fact that all the rooms are cozy and spacious, they are not 4 *: the furniture and plumbing are all old, the lack of a hairdryer, and the lighting is rather weak (although lighting is probably a problem for all the Maldives, not this hotel). But the situation in the rooms, I think, is not the most important thing in the rest, since we are the smallest part of them (we come to take a shower and sleep), the main thing is that the air conditioner is good, and it works perfectly!
The roomboy cleans the room twice a day and makes the bed in an original way almost every day (even without a tip). Once we left him $10, and on the last night a surprise was arranged for us: the whole bed was strewn with fresh flowers laid out in the form of hearts. Very nice! By the way, I read in reviews about other hotels that money is stolen directly from the safe in the room. On our island, everything was fine with this, and I didn’t hear any complaints from other tourists! Personally, we did not even use the safe, which was free at the reception, but kept money, passports and valuables in a suitcase with a combination lock. Our roomboy didn't even touch the suitcase and valuables that we sometimes forgot to put away.
All the houses in the hotel are located along the main sandy path (there is no asphalt on the island at all, so you can forget about shoes and, especially, about heels, walk barefoot even to bars and restaurants, enjoying this pleasant sand for the entire rest period). The houses located on the lagoon (or restaurant) side have their own beach, unlike the houses along the coral reef (spa side). Therefore, I consider our room number 34 and all rooms from 30 to 45 to be the best on the island, since they have direct access to the beach, which is very convenient!
The island has a spa, a diving center (you can also rent a snorkel kit there - a mask, snorkel and flippers - for $ 10 per day), a swimming pool (although who needs it when there is such an ocean), a conference room with a TV (but shows only one channel), a gym - $ 5 (albeit very small, but no one needed it in such a heat), a library (there are books in Russian left by tourists), an Internet cafe - $ 5 for 15 minutes, billiards - $ 6 per hour, table tennis (racquets can be taken at the reception for free), volleyball court on the beach (tourist tournaments against locals are held daily at 17.30), various water sports on the beach (double kayak - $20 per hour, etc. ). In principle, there is enough entertainment at the Ranveli Hotel, the only thing missing was tennis. There is one restaurant and 3 bars on the island (on the beach, near the pool and next to the restaurant).
The pool bar usually hosts most of the daily (with the exception of Monday - a day off) evening programs: an evening of national Maldivian music, a screening of modern films and films of the underwater world of the Indian Ocean. There you can also play cards and other board games (which are on the bar), and there are also various cocktails, which are 20% off in the evening (the so-called happy hours). Of course, due to the fact that this is still an island and everything is imported, the prices are appropriate: alcoholic cocktails - $ 6-9, bottled beer - $ 4, a bottle of wine - $ 30, a bottle of capital vodka - $ 45, a bottle of tequila - $ 54 , a bottle of water 1.5 liters - $ 3 (water in the Maldives is not very good, because due to the fact that there is nowhere to take it from, they desalinate sea water), ice cream - $ 3-6, a glass of ordinary juice - 2.5 $, freshly squeezed - $ 4. Plus 10% service charge (even for excursions and souvenirs sold at the hotel).
The cocktails are good, very tasty, which cannot be said about freshly squeezed juices, which, either in order to save money or because they do not know how, the bartenders do this: they put ice and a few pieces of fruit in a shaker, pour some water and mix everything . They call it fresh juices! After I saw the whole process, the next time I asked to do the same without water and ice. It turned out not juice, but fruit puree, because apparently they don’t know about juicers and all juices are made in shakers. The juices in their boxes are also not very good (not even juices, but nectars), although I thought that there are a lot of fruits at the equator and juices should be incomparable. In a word, their juices cannot be compared with our Tropicana, J-7 or Rich (we even treated them so that they know what juices should really be)! Therefore, if possible, take drinks to the Maldives with you (we took 5 liters of juice and 3 liters of mineral water so that we had something to drink in the room, and we had enough for 11 days), including alcohol, despite the fact that The Maldives is dry law and you can’t carry it! But we turned out to be smarter and still brought alcohol! The trick was that we put soft drinks in large bottles in a suitcase with clothes, poured vodka and martini into empty 0.5 l Sprite bottles, and rum and cognac from Coca-Cola and put them in a bag along with shampoos, shower gels and all sorts of things. When we went through baggage control at the airport (all things were translucent), we were asked to show what was in the suitcase: they looked at the mineral water for a very long time, shook the bottles to see if a snake appeared (like in vodka), checked the seals on the juice caps - but found nothing. Apparently, having seen so many large 1.5-liter and 2-liter bottles in a suitcase, they were glad that they would find alcohol in them, and did not notice at all the small bottles in the bag, which contained all the most interesting things... This is how we transported alcohol ! Maybe our advice will come in handy for someone, or maybe someone will come up with their own original way.
The main bar is located next to the restaurant, there is also a dance floor, where a disco is held 2 times a week on Wednesdays and Sundays (due to the fact that in their capital - Male - it is difficult to get discs with new music, they play mainly hits 80-90s and a couple of modern songs; therefore, I advise you to bring your favorite CDs with you, or even better, give them as a keepsake) and crab races are held once a week (you pay $ 2 for the crab you like, and if it turns out to be the first, then win a beer).
Due to the fact that Ranveli Island is small, the restaurant is located on the water, which I even consider a plus for the hotel. Firstly, the restaurant has a very beautiful view of the ocean and the island itself (great photos are obtained), and secondly, while sitting and eating at your table, at the same time you feed the fish that are swarming near the restaurant (of course if the table is well placed). We had a nice, friendly waiter, and he gave us a table in one of the best places in the restaurant! In general, it is very convenient that a table and a waiter are assigned to each room number for 2 persons (if desired, immediately behind two rooms for 4 persons), and you do not have to rush to a restaurant to take empty seats, as in Turkey or Egypt, How do you know that no one will sit in your place.
The food in the restaurant is very good! Despite the fact that there is not such a huge variety of dishes as in Turkey, the food is very tasty and always fresh (although in Turkey you will pick up full plates of all sorts of things, and half will be inedible, but here everything is enough and everything is edible). Mostly European cuisine prevails, and due to the fact that the majority of tourists on the island are Italians (there were only 8 of us from Russia), Italian dishes are offered daily: pasta, pizza and lasagna. There is also always meat, chicken and fish, potato dishes (different every day), salads, fresh vegetables, for hot dishes - very tasty soups that cannot be refused. Disadvantages of nutrition: only 3-4 types of fruits (very sweet papaya, amazingly delicious pineapples, apples, oranges, there were also royal bananas and passion fruit a couple of times - it could have been more! ), and very few pastries (although it is unlikely that anyone need something after so much delicious food). In general, the cook in the restaurant is a GOOD WOMAN, he can be given 5 points!! ! Tea, coffee and juices at breakfast are free. We took food 3 times a day, we were satisfied!
The service in the restaurant and bars is very good! In general, the Maldivians are very friendly people (their kind eyes speak about this), who always smile, say hello 10 times a day and treat Russians well! The only drawback is that they absolutely do not know the Russian language. There is no Russian-speaking guide on the island, but all the necessary information about the hotel is at the reception (those who do not know English at all, take an English-Russian dictionary with you). Considering that almost all the staff are educated and know 3-4 languages, then soon, I think, they will also speak Russian, as they have a desire.
As for souvenirs, I can say that it’s better not to buy them on the island, since duty free has a much larger choice and prices are lower due to the fact that there is no 10% markup on each item purchased.
As a result, we spent on everything, without denying ourselves anything, about $ 1000 for two (including souvenirs - $ 150-200, two excursions "Fishing at Sunset" - $ 80 ($ 20 per person for 1 excursion), participation in crab races - no more than $ 5, several games of billiards - about $ 15, kayak rental - $ 20, duty free - about $ 250).
I have not been to other islands and I have nothing to compare the Ranveli hotel with, but I can say one thing: I really liked not so much the hotel as the Maldives themselves! I fell in love with this beautiful country!! ! A trip to the Maldives was a birthday present for me that I will remember for a lifetime! I look at the pictures and I want to go back to this PARADISE… called MALDIVES!! !
And from a bird's eye view, the Maldives seemed to me even more beautiful! Therefore, I advise you not to spare money for a transfer from the airport to the hotel, since a seaplane flight is worth the money that they charge for it (it has special ventilation windows through which you can take a picture of all the beauty of this wonderful country).
Flight duration - 25 minutes, no more. It was very unexpected that the seaplane did not deliver us immediately to the hotel, but to a raft in the middle of the Indian Ocean, far from the islands. Together with the luggage, the pilots dropped us off, and flew away themselves. Very extreme! But soon a boat sailed, which took us to our island of Ranveli, where we were met with cool towels and treated to cocktails. By the way, while we were sailing, we saw flying fish and dolphins (the second time we saw dolphins from the island).
The Ranveli Village hotel occupies the entire island. The island itself is small, but very green, a lot of all living creatures (especially birds, flying foxes and crabs). Tall palm trees grow all around, strewn with coconuts, many of which lean right over the water, exotic plants and fruits, many flowers, there is a mini-Christmas tree (I think they decorate it for the New Year). There are many hammocks on the island (one is even located on a palm tree above the water), there are also swings with soft cushions where you can have fun. Ranveli Village has a lot of beautiful places where you can take pictures. By the way, those pictures that are posted on the Internet in the description of the hotel do not reflect the real beauty of this island (probably an inexperienced photographer took it). What we saw live turned out to be much more beautiful!
On the one hand, the island has turquoise lagoons, where the maximum depth is waist-deep (expanse for children or for those who are afraid to swim. Here we usually dragged loungers directly into the water, lay and enjoyed the sun), and on the other, there is a house reef where you can swim, dive and watch the fish. I have never seen such a quantity and variety of fish anywhere else: from small to huge and all colors of the rainbow! And to see the inhabitants of the ocean, it is not necessary to dive to the depths with scuba gear, you can just snorkel (i. e. swim on the surface of the water with a mask and snorkel). Eyes run wide from the number of colorful fish and various corals (most of the corals, unfortunately, seem to be dead due to warming water, but new ones are growing in their place. It’s still very beautiful! We really regretted that we didn’t take a box with us on the camera underwater photography). Provided that the water temperature was 27 degrees (we rested from March 2 to March 12.2008), then we don’t want to climb out of the ocean at all. The advantages of the Maldives include the weather, which is favorable all year round (it did not let us down either: the heat was 30-35 degrees, and for all 11 days it rained only once, and after it - a huge rainbow)!
The beach itself is very clean with white sand that does not heat up a bit! The only drawback is that in some places fragments of old corals interfere with the entrance to the water. Could clean up! By the way, do not believe that there are few sunbeds on the beach, there are enough of them and enough for everyone! However, those who wanted to take a place under a palm tree (since the sun is very active in the Maldives - the equator is still - do not forget to take a couple of sunscreens with a strong protection factor), had to get up early and take sunbeds, and so, no one was left without a place ! There are also sun loungers near each house, but there is always a shadow there! This is because of the tropical vegetation, which is so abundant on the island that 2-storey houses (4 rooms in each: the second floor has a balcony, the first floor has a terrace) are not visible from the beach at all. Disadvantages of the rooms: firstly, even though all the houses overlook the ocean, but it is not visible from the room (all because of the same vegetation); secondly, despite the fact that all the rooms are cozy and spacious, they are not 4 *: the furniture and plumbing are all old, the lack of a hairdryer, and the lighting is rather weak (although lighting is probably a problem for all the Maldives, not this hotel). But the situation in the rooms, I think, is not the most important thing in the rest, since we are the smallest part of them (we come to take a shower and sleep), the main thing is that the air conditioner is good, and it works perfectly!
The roomboy cleans the room twice a day and makes the bed in an original way almost every day (even without a tip). Once we left him $10, and on the last night a surprise was arranged for us: the whole bed was strewn with fresh flowers laid out in the form of hearts. Very nice! By the way, I read in reviews about other hotels that money is stolen directly from the safe in the room. On our island, everything was fine with this, and I didn’t hear any complaints from other tourists! Personally, we did not even use the safe, which was free at the reception, but kept money, passports and valuables in a suitcase with a combination lock. Our roomboy didn't even touch the suitcase and valuables that we sometimes forgot to put away.
All the houses in the hotel are located along the main sandy path (there is no asphalt on the island at all, so you can forget about shoes and, especially, about heels, walk barefoot even to bars and restaurants, enjoying this pleasant sand for the entire rest period). The houses located on the lagoon (or restaurant) side have their own beach, unlike the houses along the coral reef (spa side). Therefore, I consider our room number 34 and all rooms from 30 to 45 to be the best on the island, since they have direct access to the beach, which is very convenient!
The island has a spa, a diving center (you can also rent a snorkel kit there - a mask, snorkel and flippers - for $ 10 per day), a swimming pool (although who needs it when there is such an ocean), a conference room with a TV (but shows only one channel), a gym - $ 5 (albeit very small, but no one needed it in such a heat), a library (there are books in Russian left by tourists), an Internet cafe - $ 5 for 15 minutes, billiards - $ 6 per hour, table tennis (racquets can be taken at the reception for free), volleyball court on the beach (tourist tournaments against locals are held daily at 17.30), various water sports on the beach (double kayak - $20 per hour, etc. ). In principle, there is enough entertainment at the Ranveli Hotel, the only thing missing was tennis. There is one restaurant and 3 bars on the island (on the beach, near the pool and next to the restaurant).
The pool bar usually hosts most of the daily (with the exception of Monday - a day off) evening programs: an evening of national Maldivian music, a screening of modern films and films of the underwater world of the Indian Ocean. There you can also play cards and other board games (which are on the bar), and there are also various cocktails, which are 20% off in the evening (the so-called happy hours). Of course, due to the fact that this is still an island and everything is imported, the prices are appropriate: alcoholic cocktails - $ 6-9, bottled beer - $ 4, a bottle of wine - $ 30, a bottle of capital vodka - $ 45, a bottle of tequila - $ 54 , a bottle of water 1.5 liters - $ 3 (water in the Maldives is not very good, because due to the fact that there is nowhere to take it from, they desalinate sea water), ice cream - $ 3-6, a glass of ordinary juice - 2.5 $, freshly squeezed - $ 4. Plus 10% service charge (even for excursions and souvenirs sold at the hotel).
The cocktails are good, very tasty, which cannot be said about freshly squeezed juices, which, either in order to save money or because they do not know how, the bartenders do this: they put ice and a few pieces of fruit in a shaker, pour some water and mix everything . They call it fresh juices! After I saw the whole process, the next time I asked to do the same without water and ice. It turned out not juice, but fruit puree, because apparently they don’t know about juicers and all juices are made in shakers. The juices in their boxes are also not very good (not even juices, but nectars), although I thought that there are a lot of fruits at the equator and juices should be incomparable. In a word, their juices cannot be compared with our Tropicana, J-7 or Rich (we even treated them so that they know what juices should really be)! Therefore, if possible, take drinks to the Maldives with you (we took 5 liters of juice and 3 liters of mineral water so that we had something to drink in the room, and we had enough for 11 days), including alcohol, despite the fact that The Maldives is dry law and you can’t carry it! But we turned out to be smarter and still brought alcohol! The trick was that we put soft drinks in large bottles in a suitcase with clothes, poured vodka and martini into empty 0.5 l Sprite bottles, and rum and cognac from Coca-Cola and put them in a bag along with shampoos, shower gels and all sorts of things. When we went through baggage control at the airport (all things were translucent), we were asked to show what was in the suitcase: they looked at the mineral water for a very long time, shook the bottles to see if a snake appeared (like in vodka), checked the seals on the juice caps - but found nothing. Apparently, having seen so many large 1.5-liter and 2-liter bottles in a suitcase, they were glad that they would find alcohol in them, and did not notice at all the small bottles in the bag, which contained all the most interesting things... This is how we transported alcohol ! Maybe our advice will come in handy for someone, or maybe someone will come up with their own original way.
The main bar is located next to the restaurant, there is also a dance floor, where a disco is held 2 times a week on Wednesdays and Sundays (due to the fact that in their capital - Male - it is difficult to get discs with new music, they play mainly hits 80-90s and a couple of modern songs; therefore, I advise you to bring your favorite CDs with you, or even better, give them as a keepsake) and crab races are held once a week (you pay $ 2 for the crab you like, and if it turns out to be the first, then win a beer).
Due to the fact that Ranveli Island is small, the restaurant is located on the water, which I even consider a plus for the hotel. Firstly, the restaurant has a very beautiful view of the ocean and the island itself (great photos are obtained), and secondly, while sitting and eating at your table, at the same time you feed the fish that are swarming near the restaurant (of course if the table is well placed). We had a nice, friendly waiter, and he gave us a table in one of the best places in the restaurant! In general, it is very convenient that a table and a waiter are assigned to each room number for 2 persons (if desired, immediately behind two rooms for 4 persons), and you do not have to rush to a restaurant to take empty seats, as in Turkey or Egypt, How do you know that no one will sit in your place.
The food in the restaurant is very good! Despite the fact that there is not such a huge variety of dishes as in Turkey, the food is very tasty and always fresh (although in Turkey you will pick up full plates of all sorts of things, and half will be inedible, but here everything is enough and everything is edible). Mostly European cuisine prevails, and due to the fact that the majority of tourists on the island are Italians (there were only 8 of us from Russia), Italian dishes are offered daily: pasta, pizza and lasagna. There is also always meat, chicken and fish, potato dishes (different every day), salads, fresh vegetables, for hot dishes - very tasty soups that cannot be refused. Disadvantages of nutrition: only 3-4 types of fruits (very sweet papaya, amazingly delicious pineapples, apples, oranges, there were also royal bananas and passion fruit a couple of times - it could have been more! ), and very few pastries (although it is unlikely that anyone need something after so much delicious food). In general, the cook in the restaurant is a GOOD WOMAN, he can be given 5 points!! ! Tea, coffee and juices at breakfast are free. We took food 3 times a day, we were satisfied!
The service in the restaurant and bars is very good! In general, the Maldivians are very friendly people (their kind eyes speak about this), who always smile, say hello 10 times a day and treat Russians well! The only drawback is that they absolutely do not know the Russian language. There is no Russian-speaking guide on the island, but all the necessary information about the hotel is at the reception (those who do not know English at all, take an English-Russian dictionary with you). Considering that almost all the staff are educated and know 3-4 languages, then soon, I think, they will also speak Russian, as they have a desire.
As for souvenirs, I can say that it’s better not to buy them on the island, since duty free has a much larger choice and prices are lower due to the fact that there is no 10% markup on each item purchased.
As a result, we spent on everything, without denying ourselves anything, about $ 1000 for two (including souvenirs - $ 150-200, two excursions "Fishing at Sunset" - $ 80 ($ 20 per person for 1 excursion), participation in crab races - no more than $ 5, several games of billiards - about $ 15, kayak rental - $ 20, duty free - about $ 250).
I have not been to other islands and I have nothing to compare the Ranveli hotel with, but I can say one thing: I really liked not so much the hotel as the Maldives themselves! I fell in love with this beautiful country!! ! A trip to the Maldives was a birthday present for me that I will remember for a lifetime! I look at the pictures and I want to go back to this PARADISE… called MALDIVES!! !
Review from — vOtpusk.ru
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Rested in Ranveli Village from 2.01. 08. to 13.01. 08. The overall impression is POSITIVE. We flew non-stop on a Boeing 767 for about 9 hours. Jokes began in Domodedovo. We are smart - we arrived at the airport by car, left warm clothes in it, and in what our mother gave birth - in a “jacket” on a naked body, we went to hot countries : ).
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Rested in Ranveli Village from 2.01. 08. to 13.01. 08. The overall impression is POSITIVE. We flew non-stop on a Boeing 767 for about 9 hours. Jokes began in Domodedovo. We are smart - we arrived at the airport by car, left warm clothes in it, and in what our mother gave birth - in a “jacket” on a naked body, we went to hot countries : ). But when, instead of landing through the “sleeve”, Transaero offered to walk around the field in the usual way, the mood was spoiled. In general, as my new Maldivian friend Den puts it, “a savok is a savok”: headphones don’t work to watch a movie (they offer to take a video player for 500 rubles), there are not enough blankets as always... In Male, we were transported from a large airport to a small one, from where it was necessary fly a seaplane to the island. Do not wait as in Tourland for guides - look for yourself at the board of airplane departures to the islands. Flying on a hydroplane is a special story: take-off and landing on the water is very soft, but here it is buzzing, and there is a hole in the window for ventilation, and the pilot is trying to hold the engine control knob with both hands....The island is very small - slowly you can get around in 10 minutes. It is divided into 2 parts - 2/3 of the island for vacationers and 1/3 for servants. Mostly Italians + a couple of French-speaking families rested, ours were 5 families. In total there are 56 rooms (4 rooms per two-story house) and 4 rooms in one-story bungalows. The furnishings in the rooms are of the same type - two or single beds, two armchairs, a coffee table, two bedside tables, a bar, a wardrobe, and air conditioning. The bathroom has a bathtub with shower. . . We were lucky because we lived in a one-story bungalow and in the bathroom there was a huge hole-window into a small garden with exotic plants in the open air. You wash in the shower, and the birds sing to you (the crows mostly croak) and it seems that you are not in the room, but you are naked on the street. The floor in the room is cold for bare feet, as it is tiled. The room is cleaned twice a day, linen 1 time in 2 days. There is no TV, so I took a laptop with a bunch of movies and not in vain, because in the evening there is practically nothing to do there - this is not Turkey-Egypt where animators sometimes just get it. The room is very dark. Either they save energy, or it is stylized as a wild paradise, but it is simply impossible to read under the illumination from a dim light bulb under the ceiling and two no less dim bedside lamps (bring it with you : )). Another issue is their electrical outlets. There is only one adapter for a European plug in the room and at the reception "they can't help", and when the wife turns on, for example, a hairdryer, we are left without a laptop !! ! If you want to sit on the veranda, breathe the ocean and work at your computer, bring an extension cord of 5 meters + an adapter. Another problem is the proximity of the ocean. From the room to the water from 10 to 30 meters, and he then makes noise, and even at night does not stop his "surf-light", and thoughts about old tsunamis sometimes come to mind, so at night you wake up 10 times. Conclusion: carry something in your ears if you sleep anxiously. True, during the day, under the noise of the air conditioner, I sleep very well. As always, we played it safe with clothes - we collected two suitcases. In fact, even shoes are not needed there because of the sandy paths. And you can go barefoot to the beach and to the restaurant and for a walk (ladies! forget about heels! ). To the beach from the room in swimming trunks, to the bar too, only the restaurant needs light clothing. They eat there 3 times in the restaurant. Tables for 2.3, 4.5 persons. Each table has its own waiter. The food is a buffet with an Italian twist - lasagna, pizza, pasta. . There is always 1 type of meat and 1 type of fish, vegetables, herbs, soup for dinner, 3-4 types of fruit. I love papaya and therefore I was pleased with the fruit, although our compatriots were expecting more at the equator : ) They have problems with water - and the pressure in the bathroom is very weak, and in the sense of drinking, $ 3 costs 1.5 liters of water. Alcohol cannot be imported into the country, but it costs: a bottle of wine -$25-30; champagne - $25-50; beer-$3-5; cocktails $7-10. Our guy tried to smuggle cognac from Duty, but the customs knows their business - they requisitioned. On the way back, he had to pick up his bubble from the safe at customs, but we were brought to the airport very late and he did not have time. The day there is like a day like twin brothers: the beach is from 7.00 to 17.45 with a break for breakfast at 8.30, lunch at 13.00. From 13.00 to 15.00 the sun is hot. Air temperature +28, water +28, sand +28. On the 5th day, I decided not to smear with creams - I immediately burned out. Take more protective creams! ! Yes, there is no crowd on the beach like in the Mediterranean, even more likely people are not noticeable at all, but nevertheless there is a problem with sunbeds. The sun is warm, and you can only hide under palm trees, and there are 3-4 of them on the beach. Therefore, the wise in the morning run to take a place under the palm tree. In the evening there were a couple of so-called discos, crab races, performances of local "amateur performances" - waiters and roamboys showed Aboriginal dances to their own songs, there is an impromptu international library in the bar at the restaurant - vacationers leave their books upon departure. The service is friendly, did not know the Russian language - we began to teach ! ! From excursions you can go to neighboring islands or go fishing. We went fishing and liked it very much - we caught two hefty fish, they were cooked for lunch in the restaurant. A very convenient system of payment for services - you get bills for everything, which you can pay once before leaving. No cheating, a tip of 10% of the bill is always included in the bill. You give tips to waiters, cleaners at your discretion - we left $ 10 each before leaving. There will be questions - write to ksb@miee. en
Review from — vOtpusk.ru
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